1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lace tightening assembly, more particularly to a lace tightening assembly mounted on eyelet tabs of a shoe.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a conventional lace tightening assembly 1xe2x80x2 is mounted on a shoe body 2 for tightening and loosening a shoe lace 3. The conventional lace tightening assembly 1xe2x80x2 includes a mounting seat 4 having top and base walls spaced apart from each other, an upright pivot axle 5 extending between the top and base walls of the mounting seat 4, and a tightening member 7 mounted pivotally on the pivot axle 5 and biased by a resilient member 6 from a lace loosening position to a lace tightening position. The mounting seat 4 has a lace guiding surface 401 and a stop unit 402 opposite to the lace guiding surface 401. The lace guiding surface 401 of the mounting seat 4 cooperates with the tightening member 7 to define a shoe lace passage for passage of a shoe lace segment therethrough. The tightening member 7 includes a pivot portion 701 mounted pivotally on the pivot axle 5, and an operating portion 702 extending from the pivot portion 701. The pivot portion 701 of the tightening member 7 is provided with a clamping surface 703 and a smooth surface 704. The clamping surface 703 has a plurality of clamping teeth 705. As best shown in FIG. 2, when the tightening member 7 is at the lace tightening position, a segment of the shoe lace 3 is clamped between the clamping surface 703 of the pivot portion 701 of the tightening member 7 and the lace guiding surface 401 of the mounting seat 4. As best shown in FIG. 3, when the tightening member 7 is at the lace loosening position, the clamping surface 703 is moved away from the lace guiding surface 401. The operating portion 702 of the tightening member 7 moves past the stop unit 402 to retain the tightening member 7 at the lace loosening position. At this time, the smooth surface 704 of the pivot portion 701 permits the segment of the shoe lace 3 to slip through the lace passage to loosen the shoe lace 3.
Although the conventional lace tightening assembly 1xe2x80x2 can achieve the purpose of tightening and loosening the shoe lace 3, it has the following shortcomings:
1. The operating portion 702 of the tightening member 7 should be moved past the stop unit 402 to retain the tightening member 7 at the lace loosening position before the segment of the shoe lace 3 can be strung through the lace passage. Therefore, the operation of stringing the shoe lace is relatively troublesome.
2. The conventional lace tightening assembly 1xe2x80x2 requires installation of the resilient member 6, which results in a relatively complicated structure and inconvenience during assembly.
3. The segment of the shoe lace 3 is liable to be damaged by the clamping teeth 705.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a lace tightening assembly which is relatively simple in structure, which is easy to assemble, and which does not result in damage to the shoe lace.
The lace tightening assembly according to this invention is adapted for use with a shoe body that has a front end, a rear end, a shoe opening adjacent to the rear end, a shoe tongue that extends along a reference line from the front end toward the shoe opening, a pair of eyelet tabs disposed on opposite lateral sides of the shoe tongue, and a shoe lace tied to the eyelet tabs. The lace tightening assembly according to this invention includes a mounting seat, a pivot axle, a tightening member, and an operating member.
The mounting seat is adapted to be mounted on one of the eyelet tabs adjacent to the shoe opening. The mounting seat includes a base wall and a top wall vertically spaced apart from the base wall. Each of the base and top walls has proximate and distal edges respectively disposed proximate to and distal from the shoe opening when the mounting seat is mounted on said one of the eyelet tabs. The mounting seat further includes a side wall that interconnects the distal edges of the base and top walls and that cooperates with the base and top walls to form a lace receiving space. The side wall has an inner wall surface that confronts the lace receiving space and that has first and second wall ends opposite to each other and respectively disposed distal from and proximate to the shoe opening when the mounting seat is mounted on said one of the eyelet tabs. The side wall further has a cord hole formed therethrough for access to the lace receiving space.
The pivot axle extends between the base and top walls, and is disposed between the inner wall surface and the reference line when the mounting seat is mounted on the one of the eyelet tabs.
The tightening member is disposed in the lace receiving space, and has a pivot portion mounted pivotally on the pivot axle, a clamping portion extending from the pivot portion, and an actuating portion extending from the pivot portion and distal from the clamping portion. The tightening member cooperates with the inner wall surface of the side wall to confine a lace passage within the lace receiving space. The lace passage is adapted to permit passage of a segment of the shoe lace therethrough, and has a first passage opening defined by the first wall end and the actuating portion, and a second passage opening defined by the second wall end and the clamping portion.
The operating member includes an operating portion disposed outwardly of the mounting seat, and a pull cord connected to the operating portion. The pull cord extends through the cord hole in the side wall, and is connected to the actuating portion of the tightening member.
The tightening member is pivotable inside the lace receiving space between a shoe lace tightening position, in which the actuating portion is urged by the segment of the shoe lace to pivot toward the reference line to cause the clamping portion to move away from the reference line to thereby clamp the segment of the shoe lace at the second passage opening, and a shoe lace loosening position, in which the actuating portion is pulled to pivot away from the reference line upon application of a pulling force on the operating member to cause the clamping portion to move toward the reference line to thereby release the segment of the shoe lace from being clamped at the second passage opening.